Childhood Beginnings
by wispedheart
Summary: Fairy Tail NaLu AU set in present-day NYC.
1. Chapter 1

Pressing her nose to the window, a young blonde girl watched the city below her, wide eyes barely blinking as her breath fogged up the previously pristine glass. "So high..." she whispered to herself, her hands tightening closer around her bear. Everything seemed to stretch out below her. Even the big park that her nanny had told her about seemed smaller. Was it really so big that she could get lost forever?

"Lucy! Time to go on a walk!" At the sound of her name, Lucy turned, looking behind her curiously. The most recently hired nanny (Lucy liked to call her Big Nose since she always liked to press her nose against her bear's face) was waiting at the door, holding her backpack out to her. A smile broke on the little girl's face, and she ran forward, grabbing hold of the bag and setting it on the floor, stuffing the bear inside so only the head poked out from the top.

"Is Daddy coming today?" she asked, pulling the backpack on and looking over towards the tightly shut door of his office curiously. He didn't usually come, but it was her sixth birthday after all... she was a big girl now! That meant he'd spend time with her, right?

"Not today, sweetie," the nannie replied, grabbing hold of her hand. "Maybe another day. Now lets go, before it gets dark!"

Lucy allowed herself to be pulled out the door. Suddenly, a walk didn't seem like the best idea after all. Blinking back the tears that seemed to surface from nowhere, Lucy brought her free hand up to scrub at her eyes, rubbing at her nose as well. She didn't sniffle, knowing that this nanny got all mad if she started to cry. So she kept quiet as the rode down the elevator to the bottom floor of the building, waving halfheartedly at the doorman. Once outside, she looked up, trying to see the apartment they were staying in. It was a big suite, it took the entire top floor of the building. Daddy had always told her he didn't want to be bothered, so when they went places, it was always hidden from people. At least, that was how it seemed to her.

"Are we going to the park?" Lucy asked, looking up at the woman as she started to lead her down the street.

"Do you mean Central Park? Yes, we are. It's much better than walking among all these smelly buildings and vendors." Lucy wasn't quite sure why this nanny didn't like big cities. They were in Los Angelos last month, and she had been muttering complaints the entire time. She didn't want to say anything to her Daddy though. He would fire her and get a new one, just like what happened to the one before Big Nose.

"Is there a kid park that I can play in?" She asked, looking at the ground as she spoke, being sure to skip every crack in the sidewalk. Her mom has died two years ago, but Lucy didn't want to do anything to hurt her, since all her nannies told her that she was always watching over Lucy. Big Nose didn't answer her this time.

The park came within sight soon, and Lucy smiled excitedly, running forward towards one of the lion statues. "A lion!" She said, reaching up towards its nose. She was too short to even try to touch it, so she poked as high as she could reach instead, which, admittedly, wasn't very high.

"Dont touch that!" Big Nose snapped, coming and yanking her hand away. "All kinds of animals do their business on that thing, Lucy. A proper young lady like you should be walking patiently, not running off every chance she gets!"

Immediately, Lucy clasped her hands together and put her head down, highly aware of the stares that were now coming from all sides. "Yes m'am," she said. "I won't do it again."

"Good," Big Nose snapped, grabbing her hand and leading her into the park. "Let's get this over with so you can go to bed."

"Yes ma'am," Lucy replied in monotone, trudging after the woman silently after that point. Of course, even with wanting to be grumpy, just to spite the woman, Lucy found herself gazing at all the trees, and a fountain they passed, and the wildlife, and so on and so forth. It was just all so _pretty!_ She hadn't been to a big park in a while, mostly because all of her daddy's work was in big cities. After a while of peaceful walking, Big Nose had released Lucy's hand, allowing her to at least walk on her own.

They turned a corner in the path, the Lucy brightened at the sight of a flower on the side of the path, the petals a perfect, perfect pink color, Lucy's favorite. Stopping next to the plant, Lucy bent over, smiling at it. She didn't touch it or take it out of the ground. Her mother had always told her that she killed plants when she did that, and she didn't want to kill such a pretty flower. Sighing happily, Lucy stood, turning to walk after Big Nose.

Except she was gone.

"Huh?" Lucy said, her eyes widening. The little girl span in a circle, desperately searching for any sight of the black overcoat the woman had been wearing. But all she saw were random people walking in the grass or on the path, in pairs or alone. Alone. She was alone. A familiar trickling behind her eyes warned Lucy she was about to cry. Sniffing, the little girl started walking, calling out for the nanny ever few moments.

"Are you lost?"

Turning at the sound of a new voice, Lucy found a little boy standing behind her, his head tipped slightly to the side. Normally, Lucy would ignore strangers, just as she'd been raised to, but this boy was different. For one, he had pink hair. The same perfect pink the flowers had. Second, he looked more like he was in trouble than she was. He was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts pairing that looked so dirty she wondered when his last bath was. His face was smudged with dirt, as well. The only clean part of him was his scarf, a white checker patterned (she thought) thing that seemed almost like it didn't belong to him. It looked out of place, just as he did. "Yes," she said, bringing up a hand to rub her eyes clear. She wasn't supposed to cry in front of people. Her daddy would be mad if he found out. "I lost my nanny, and now I can't get home."

For some reason, the boy brightened at her words. "Oh, is that all? I thought you were hurt or something!" Was it so easy to dismiss the fact that she was lost? This was New York! She'd probably never get home at this rate, not with her only chance of help being this boy. Lucy's thoughts were dispersed, however, when she felt a hand wrap around her own. Used to her nannies grabbing her hands, she didn't react, but she did glance at him in surprise for another reason. His hand was hot. _Burning hot._ Not enough so to hurt her, but more like a warm cup of tea. All the same, even if he had a fever, he wouldn't feel like that, would he? Plus, he looked fine. As if he were the most healthy being in the world, albeit needing a bath. "Come on!" he said, giving her a wide smile. "We'll just find your home."

Just as she had earlier in the day, Lucy allowed herself to be pulled after the boy, who seemed to simply be following the path for now. "I-I'm Lucy," she said, manners and a need to know who was helping her pushing her to introduce herself. "What's your name?"

"Natsu!" the boy replied, turning to glance at her as he walked. "I'm from Fairy Tail! Where are you from?"

 _Fairy Tail? Is that a city?_ "Uhh, I was born in Greece," Lucy said, unsure if she was even answering correctly. Natsu paused, turning and giving her a strange look.

"You're weird," he said, smiling at her.

Immediately, Lucy frowned, putting her free hand on her hip and turning her head away. "Am not!" she said.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Which entrance did you come into the park from?"

Taken aback at the sudden switch in the conversation, Lucy almost shot back with another "am not," but managed to stop herself. She frowned, thinking back to when they walked in.

"There was a lion statue," she said. "And Big Nose told me not to touch it, because it was dirty."

"Oh, then we need to go this way!" Natsu did a full 180, turning and walking the other direction, pulling Lucy along with him. She followed, smiling slightly. This boy was weird, sure, but somehow, he made her feel better about being lost. Plus, the warmth of his hand against hers was comforting, in a way. She wasnt as scared anymore.

"Where's Fairy Tail?" she asked, jogging forward a bit so she was walking next to him rather than being pulled along behind.

"Oh, in an old warehouse! Its really cool though, Grandpa fixed it up for everybody, so it's sage." Natsu paused at a fork in the path, as if thinking a moment, then chose the left and kept going. "Erza does most of the work keeping us all together though, even if she's only a little bit older than me. She's super scary." Hee went on to tell her about a whole bunch of people. He seemed not to like a guy he called "Ice princess" the most. Though, with all the other names popping out of his mouth, that was the only one Lucy could catch and hold onto in her head.

Lucy was, to say the least, confused. She had thought Fairy Tail was a city, but it was inside a warehouse? And it sounded like Natsu lived there with a bunch of other people. Was he homeless? Or part of a gang? She hoped not, her Daddy would be mad if she got mixed up with those sort of people. He'd lock her in her room until he was done with New York.

"That sounds fun," she said, taking the ladylike reply, just as she'd been taught.

"Yeah!" Natsu replied excitedly, looking over at her and smiling again. "You should come sometime, I'll show you around! Oh, who's Big Nose?"

 _He's hyper,_ Lucy thought. They seemed to go from one conversion to another within seconds. "She's my nanny," Lucy said. "She always stuffs get nose up against my bears. So I call her Big Nose," she blushed slightly as she spoke, not used to telling other people the nicknames she gave her nannies.

"Now you're really weird," Natsu said, stopping and looking at her. Before she could shoot back again that she wasnt, Natsu pointed up with a smile. "We're out! Which way did you go from here?"

Lucy looked up in surprise. _The lion statue!_ He'd led her to it! Now all she had to do was find the apartment building.

"MISS HEARTFILIA!" the scream coming from behind them made both Lucy and Natsu jump in surprise. Glancing around behind her, Lucy saw Big Nose stomping towards them. Immediately, she pulled her hand out of Natsu's, and stepped away from him, lowering her head to look at her shoes.

"Where have you BEEN?! I looked all over Central Park for you, young lady! Do you know what your father would do if he found out you'd been lost? It'd be my head! Come on young lady, we're going back to the apartment."

"Yes ma'am," Lucy said quietly, glancing over at Natsu. He looked mortified, to say the least. The nannies her Daddy hired always scared anybody who might be her friend off, in the end. "Bye, Natsu," she said, waving as she got yanked harshly down the sidewalk.

Behind her, Natsu blinked. She was leaving? But he wanted to talk to her more...

 **YO! This isn't my first time writing, but this is my first time actually posting anything I write with FULL INTENTION to finish it. Well, besides that random NaLu drabble I wrote at 2 AM the other day. XD I plan on posting this on both Tumblr and here. This is a NaLu AU set in present day NYC. Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated! They help me get better! I'm sorry it's so crappy, I've been told I'm kinda bad at writing, but I like to do it. Sorry if it was a waste of time.**


	2. Chapter 2

Lucy didn't see Natsu for a long time after that. Her father, after hearing how she'd gotten lost in the park, ended up firing Big Nose. She couldn't say she was sad to see the nanny go, but she also knew that just meant another new one was coming in. She hadn't been allowed out of the apartment in the week that they'd had left in New York, and by the time there was another nanny to watch her when she did go out, they had already left the state behind. On to another city, and another business deal for her father. It had always been like that, bouncing back and forth across the country, and sometimes the world. Her father refused to send her off to school, instead hiring teachers. Most of the time, her nannies were her teachers as well, when she got to the age where school was more than simply learning the ABC's.

As time passed, and they still hadn't gone to New York City, Lucy grew older. Her hair grew longer, touching her shoulders now, and she grew taller. By the time she was 13, she was beginning to look less a child, and more a teenager. Even so, she still loved New York, and wanted desperately to go back. For now, it was just the combined allure of the city of lights, and the mystery boy that drew her. She may have painted a picture in her mind over time, making Natsu almost seem more than he was, but to an adolescent teenager, fantasies were only a step away from reality. So, when her father told her that they were soon going to return, the excitement among the small Heartfilia household grew almost infectious, to the point that even the typically sullen nanny smiled and hummed as she worked. So, by the time the plane landed in New York, emotions were running a bit higher than they had in years.

"Lucy, I'm going to make some phone calls. Do the work that your nanny gave you," Jude Heartfilia called over his shoulder. Lucy, having been hauling in a suitcase off of the luggage rack a bell boy had brought up for them, paused, glancing over towards him. She had no chance to reply, or even do much looking, however. Only a small glimpse of his back, and then the snap of a blank door closing behind him were given to her. A soft sigh escaped from between her lips, and she went back to hauling the suitcase, ignoring the attempts to help that both the nanny and the bell boy made.

"I did that work on the plane, by the way," Lucy said to the nanny. This one's name was Mrs. Bayberry, and, though she was always a bit quiet and almost... sad looking, she was a really kind woman, and a nice teacher. Out of the last five nannies she'd had, Lucy preferred her over the others. "He just didn't notice because he was buried in his laptop." Yanking the suitcase through the door to her room, Lucy flung it on the bed, slumping over the side of it for a second. She did like to do things herself, but that thing had been _heavy._ Smiling at Mrs. Bayberry, Lucy turned, going to the mirror on the side of the room. They'd gotten the same suite as last time, somehow. Lucy had simply guessed her father liked it. When he liked things, he tended to get them, no matter the cost. She just hoped somebody hadn't been pushed out early or something because of their arrival. Looking into her reflection on the glass, Lucy glanced herself over once, simply checking she still looked as she had in the morning, when they had left Pittsburg. Taking her appearance as acceptable, Lucy ran her fingers through her half-ponytail a few times, her fingers lightly brushing away a few knots. _Okay,_ she thought, spinning away from the mirror. She noticed that Mrs. Bayberry had left, silent in her movements, as always. Lucy could've sworn that woman was half ghost or something. It was a bit creepy, some days.

"I'm going on a walk," Lucy called. Well, more like whispered. If Mrs. Bayberry had heard her, there'd be some problems, mostly considering she'd insist to go with her. Besides, she was just going down to the park. She'd leave a note on the counter, and everything would be fine. It wasn't as if her father would care, or even be done with his 'phone calls' until midnight or so. Lucy made her way over to the table near the kitchenette, picking up the backpack she'd left there. After checking to see her phone was inside, she snuck a peak towards Mrs. Bayberry's door. It was half closed, allowing her to just see the woman inside, methodically unpacking her suitcase. Automatically shrinking down a bit, Lucy moved so that she wasn't visible from the nanny's doorway. Then, she reached into her bag, pulling out one of the ever-present pieces of paper she had, and set it on the table, writing a quick note.

 _Going out on a walk while the day is still nice. Don't worry, I'll stay close._

 _Lucy._

Leaving this on the counter, she hoisted the bag over her shoulder, sneaking to the door and turning the knob carefully before pulling it open.

"I'm going out," she whispered.

Nobody replied.

Shrugging, Lucy turned, stepping out the door and pulling it behind her, being sure to turn the knob again so it didn't click, before carefully putting it back in it's place. Turning down the hall, she let out a sigh she didn't know she'd been holding. "Free," she muttered, making her way down the hallway. The last time she'd been alone and free to do what she wanted was practically never, at this point. The fact that she'd managed to escape so easily was a surprise to her. Six or so years of not doing anything wrong must have given them a sense of security or something. Shrugging, Lucy smiled, swinging her arms freely back and forth as she made her way to the elevator, pressing the button and waiting. It was only a few seconds before the door slid open. She must have been lucky, if the elevator had been that close to the top of the building. Hopefully that luck kept going, and she wouldn't get caught before she even hit the bottom floor. Stepping inside, Lucy smiled happily, clicking the button for the bottom floor and clasping her hands in front of herself, watching as the doors slid closed once more, the world around her jerking slightly as it began to make its way down to the ground. When she reached the ground floor, it was a simple thing to escape outside. Walk confidently, and nobody questions what you're doing, even if you're only thirteen.

It was only a short walk to the park after that. The whether was nice today, just that place in between not too cold and not too hot, leaving her completely comfortable in the dress she was wearing. Central Park wasn't crowded, either, surprisingly. From what she remembered, it had been the last time.

Even as she walked though, she wasn't sure why she was doing this. She knew the boy she'd met years ago wouldn't be there. In fact, he probably didn't even know she existed anymore. But, either way, the freedom was nice, even if it was only for a short while, before she had to go back to her cage. Letting out a sigh, Lucy smiled, stopping for a moment beside a park bench and sitting down, staring up at the sky. Something brushed her leg then, and she jumped in surprise, letting out a loud squeal.

The cat who pressed his head against her looked up at her cluelessly. At the site of it, Lucy paused for a moment, dumbfounded. The cat was _blue._ And it definitely wasn't a natural color. Will dyes their cat's fur blue? Was that considered animal cruelty? It was, right? Lucy wasn't quite sure. The cat was putting now, bumping her leg again in an attempt to get her to let it before jumping up beside her on the bench, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Oh, fine," Lucy said, picking up her hand and scratching it behind the ears. The putting intensified then, and age smiled.

"I wonder who your owner is. And what your name is," She leaned down a moment to check, but the cat had no collar. Just a strange green handkerchief or something.

"His name is Happy. And he's mine." Art the new voice, Lucy looked up, her eyes widening when she saw who'd spoken.

It was Natsu. At least, him, or a person who looked devastatingly similar to him. The scarf was the same, as well as the pink hair. Though, for all she knew, that get up could be for some play or something. Did Broadway actors go on walks in between shows? She didn't know. Though, this person seemed to find her familiar too. Walking over, he leaned forward towards her. Suddenly scared, Lucy leaned back. This boy looked the same age as her, but you never knew. Especially not in New York.

"You smell familiar," the guy said, leaning away. "And Happy likes you, which is weird. What's your name?"

"Lucy," she replied, get nose wrinkling slightly at his words. She _smelled_ familiar? Who identified people by their smell?

"Luigi?"

"LUCY!" She said once more, raising her voice a bit.

"Oh," Natsu said, smiling slightly and reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Lucy. Have I met ya before?"

"Maybe," Lucy said, smiling mischievously and scratching behind Happy's ears. "Why is your cat blue?"

A slight frown came on Natsu's face, and he shrugged, tugging at his scarf a bit. "He fell in some paint or somethin'. I dunno, he was like that when I found him. Why'd you say maybe? Have I met you before or not?"

"The world may never know," Lucy let out a small laugh, leaning back on the bench. "I'm surprised you're in the park though, I never expected you to be."

"You never expected... so you do know me!" Natsu pointed at her, then crossed his arms once more. He came over, sitting on the bench beside her, then sniffing again. "You smell like I met ya, but I don't remember how."

"Stop sniffing me!" Lucy repied, leaning away, picking up Happy and setting the cat between them. "It was a long time ago. I wouldn't expect you to." Even as she said it though, her heart sank a little bit. Some part of her had wanted him to remember. Though, it had been a long time. Natsu seemed like the type of person that wouldn't remember what he ate for breakfast the day before.

"Fine, weirdo," Natsu leaned back, sitting normally on the bench. Well, normally besides the fact that he slouched horribly and he didn't set his legs properly. But maybe people outside of the ones she knew didn't have to sit properly? Internally, Lucy shrugged.

Suddenly, Lucy's bag started ringing. "They found out already?!" Lucy cried, turning and going into her bag, pulling out her phone after a few moments. She glanced at the caller information. Mrs. Bayflower. Rolling her eyes, Lucy muted the phone and put it back in her bag.

"Found out what?" Natsu asked. Lucy jumped slightly, remembering that he was there.

"That I left the hotel," Lucy replied, frowning. "All I wanted to do was go out and be free for a little bit. Have fun, or something. They're always supervising me, like I'm six years old or something."

"Six..." Natsu's eyes suddenly widened, and he jumped to his feet. "YOU'RE THAT GIRL! THE ONE WITH THE CREEPY LADY THAT FOLLOWED HER!"

Lucy smiled; her heart soared. He remembered her! "Yeah," she said, smiling, absently twirling a sleeping Happy's tail around her fingers. "I am."

"Then come on!" Natsu said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

Lucy's eyes widened, though she allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. Happy let out an offended meow as he was dumped onto the ground, still managing to somehow land on his feet.

"To Fairy Tail! I said I'd show ya, remember?" Natsu had an excited smile on his face, that smile being almost infectious, in a way. A return smile slowly slid onto Lucy's face, and she giggled.

"Yeah!" She said, allowing herself to be pulled off down the park sidewalk.

 **Hiya! Sorry this took so long, had a bit of a weird span there of different things. Classes, for one . Anyway, thanks to LevyMcGardenSolidScriptMagic, and xXSaryBearXx for posting reviews! You two were so sweet. Sorry I had to make you wait. But there's chapter 2 for ya ^.^**

 **~Wisp**


	3. Chapter 3

After that, he dragged her along behind him for what seemed like forever, her hand gripped tightly in his. She didn't know where Fairy Tail was, and she didn't know all that much about what it _was_ either, but all the same, Natsu's excitement about the whole situation was almost infectious. He was acting as if it was her birthday, pausing every so often to point out something to her. When they weren't paused, however, Lucy was pulled along in a rush, trying to avoid bumping into people, but doing so anyway. This, of course, earned her more than her fair share of curses, and glares, and that ever-so-lovely "damn kids," thing that adults seemed fond of. But then Natsu would pause again, and smile at her with that wide, blindly happy smile, and she found she couldn't quite keep it in her to be all that irritated about it.

It took a while, but eventually the turned down an alleyway, the incessant sound that was New York only lowering a bare fraction. Even that small bit seemed nice, though. Lucy looked up and around the alley, her eyes curious. Was this Fairy Tail? It seemed rather... dirty. Well, it was an alleyway, after all. So all there seemed to be were a bunch of boxes, and trash.

"Almost there," Natsu said, starting down the alley, jumping over anything that blocked his path like some sort of acrobat. A weight suddenly settled on Lucy's shoulder, and she jumped in surprise, letting out a high-pitched squeal. A meow of discontent answered her, and Lucy looked to the side, watching as Happy crouched a bit, settling himself on her shoulder, his tail wrapping about her neck. Natsu looked back in confusion, glancing around the alleyway a few times before looking at her again.

"You're weird. Whatcha screaming about?"

Crossing her arms, Lucy frowned at him, lifting one finger to point at the cat. "He surprised me."

"Oh," Natsu said, climbing back over the trash and stopping in front of her. "Come on, everybody's waiting!"

 _Waiting?_ Lucy thought, not commenting aloud as her hand was taken again, and she was pulled forward once more. Happy protested, digging his claws into her shoulder to hang on. _Thank god his back claws are on my backpack,_ she thought. "I'm coming!" she replied, making her way through the trash and out of the alley, reaching up to stroke the fuzzy tail that brushed itself gently along her cheek.

It was as if she were walking from day into night. The street beyond the alley was absolutely deserted, trash taking the place of where people would be on any _regular_ street in New York City. Of course, the sun was still shining, but the street had an overall tension to it that made her uncomfortable. Reaching up, she lifted Happy off of her shoulder, cuddling the cat against her chest. "Waiting where?" she asked, looking around. She wasn't sure where anybody would even want to wait, on this street. The buildings looked half fallen over.

"In here," Natsu replied, leading her over to a door about a building down from where they'd come out. Lucy looked up at the building, confused. It was just a warehouse. People lived here? Was it safe? The sounds of shattering glass pierced the air and Lucy let out a little yelp, holding a (now complaining) Happy as if her life depended on it.

"OI GRAY!" Natsu screamed, throwing his body against the door and pushing his way inside. "STOP BREAKING SHIT!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" came a yelled reply, and suddenly Natsu was gone, leaving a confused Lucy standing in front of an open door. Peeking inside, she felt a sense of déjà vu. Like walking from night back into day once more, right? The inside of the warehouse was total chaos. Voices echoed back and forth, and, as she stepped inside, a bottle flew past her head, smashing into the wall behind her.

"CANA STOP THAT THIS INSTANCE!" a voice yelled over the din. Lucy caught a glimpse of a redhead stomping across the room, looking angry. With a mewl of fright, Happy wiggled out of her arms, jumping to the floor and disappearing among the mass of feet.

The entire warehouse looked as if it'd been converted to a bar, in a way. There were tables everywhere (granted, not the same tables, nor the same chairs), but all the same, the sheer multitude was probably the only reason Lucy hadn't been crushed. It looked as if Natsu had started a fight, though. She could just barely see his short little pink head popping in and out through the bodies of all the adults.

"Hello," a soft voice said, and Lucy glanced to her left, finding a short blue-haired girl smiling at her happily. Realizing that her hands were still held in front of her chest as if she were holding something, Lucy quickly swung them down behind her back, clasping them together and smiling in return.

"Good afternoon," Lucy replied, curtsying slightly and inclining her head, just as she'd been taught. A moment later, she stuck her hand out, ready to shake. "I'm Lucy!"

The other girl seemed confused for a moment, but she took the situation in stride, taking Lucy's hand and shaking it a few times. "I'm Levy! Did Natsu bring you here? I thought I saw him with you before everything went crazy. You had Happy, too."

"Yes, he did," Lucy said, letting her hand drop back to her side as the other girl released it. "Though he left me as soon as we stepped inside." Her eyes turned to the crowd again, curious to see if maybe she could catch a glimpse of him this time.

"He tends to be a bit scatterbrained, sorry about that. At least he got you all the way here, though. I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd forgotten you halfway. Do you want to come sit at a table with me? The fight will probably be over soon, considering that Erza is getting herself involved." Levy's happy smile appeared once again, and Lucy couldn't help but return it.

"Sure!" she replied, her hands coming up to grip the straps of her backpack. One didn't quite make it however, as Levy grabbed hold of her wrist (what was with people grabbing her hands today) and pulled her towards the crowd. Suddenly, all she could see was bodies pressing in on all sides, suffocating her as she was practically yanked bodily through the area. At one point, a fist swung by her head, causing her to let out a ear-breaking scream that actually cleared the area slightly, allowing Levy to finally pull them free of a crowd, and onto the bench of a table seated in a corner, somewhat safe from the chaos around them.

"Thanks!" Levy said, releasing her and flopping down in her chair, setting her hands in her lap. "Sometimes it's really hard to get through that crowd. Just wait here a bit, and it'll calm down some soon."

"Okay…" Lucy replied, unsure. She sat anyway, however, looking around at the people somewhat curiously, waiting for a moment in which Natsu would come back.

* * *

 **Hiya! Sorry this took so long, classes are getting hard D: Finals for the first quarter are coming soon though, then hopefully my life will get a bit easier. The next story I'm updating is Afterward! Be ready for it!**

 **Circus Monster 2002: OMG I'm sorry XD Screaming in class probably would've been bad. I'm glad it made you that happy though!**

 **Thanks to** **LevyMcGardenSolidScriptMagic,** **Life Death rabidlovingfangirl,** **xXSaryBearXx, and** **IgneelsTears for reviews! I really appreciate it!  
**

 **Everybody, make sure to keep an eye on my profile for updates! I always make sure to keep it updated on what I'm currently working on.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was actually quite a while before all the fighting died down, a _ridiculously_ long while. Luckily, it wasn't quite as boring as it could have been. After all, she'd been sitting in the center of a riot. Plus, Levy seemed to like a lot of the books she did, _and_ she seemed interested in her writing! It seemed that the "Erza" Levy soon told her about got pulled into the fighting as well. In fact, when Levy talked about her, she seemed like a demon. But when everything ended, it turned out Erza was a simple girl, maybe a few years older than Lucy. Either way, however, she was scary. After all, the fight only ended _because Erza had won._ It was a good thing that she'd only seemed interested in her on a polite 'oh, look, a newcomer' level.

"Back, Luce," Natsu appeared behind her as if out of nowhere, only after Erza was safely across the room. He appeared almost no worse for the wear, save the large bruise that had already darkened on his cheekbone. Part of her mind noted that he had already given her a nickname, leaving her blushing even as she tried to ignore the comment.

"Are you okay?" she asked, reaching her hand up towards the bruise, but not daring to touch it. Would it hurt if she touched it, even if just very lightly? Natsu seemed not to notice her ministrations, however. He looked at her shoulder for a moment, a thoughtful look on his face, before turning about in a circle, looking around their feet.

"What's wrong?" Levy asked, glancing up again from the book she'd buried herself in. Lucy couldn't help but agree, he looked silly spinning in circles like that.

"Where'd Happy go?" Natsu asked, looking over at them. "He's supposed to eat soon. I even got fish for him!" As if to prove his point, Natsu held up a handful of fish sticks, obviously stolen straight from someone's plate.

"Oh, he ran off when the fight started," Lucy said, dropping her hands back to her lap, folding together properly. "I think he was scared."

"Probably of Erza," Natsu muttered, his eyes widening even as he said it, quickly checking the area to be sure the redhead was in sight.

"She's gone," Levy said, though she didn't even bother to look up from the book this time. Natsu heaved a sigh of relief, and looked back at Lucy with a smile. "So, Luigi-"

" _Luuuucccyyy,"_

"Yeah. Do you like Fairy Tail?"

Somewhat caught off-guard, Lucy looked around at the now (relatively) calm warehouse. "What is it? A bar?" Though, they fought an awful lot for it to be a bar. Wouldn't somebody have kicked them out? That, and she was too young to get into a bar, and she was sure that Natsu, Levy, and probably Erza as well were too young to get into one either.

Natsu laughed suddenly. It was a high, explosive laugh, one that both caught her off-guard, and caught her attention. It was… _cute._ Mentally, she put a note in to tease him about it if he dared call her "Luigi" again. "No! It's a gang!"

Lucy's eyes widened, and her whole body when slack, the only thing keeping her from falling being the wide back of the chair. "A _what?"_ Of all things, a gang? She'd made friends (she thought she had, anyway) with a boy from a _gang?_ Her father was going to kill her.

"A gang! 'Cept, it's a good one. Nobody does drugs and shit. Well, Macao and Wakaba drink a lot, and Cana bothers them all the time to let her have some, and Wakaba smokes too… But most of the rest of them just drink normally!"

"A good… gang." Was that an oxymoron? She was pretty sure that was an oxymoron. Mrs. Bayflower had told her all about them a few lessons ago. This _had_ to be the perfect example. "What's the point of being called a gang then? Aren't you just a group?"

"Nope," Natsu said. He took the chair next to her, a loud scrape rising through the air as he jerked it back, flopping into it and slumping a bit. "We take care of the bad ones. And we do random jobs. It helps that we're all freaks."

"Freaks?" Lucy echoed for what felt like the billionth time, her head tipping to the side.

"Orphans," Levy clarified from across the table. "Or just people who fell on hard times. Or people whom society dropped. We're not all that picky. What's your reason? Natsu brought you here to stay, right?"

"Oh…" Lucy said, turning her head to look around the room again. So, all these people were homeless? Well, she guessed they weren't homeless if they all lived here, but the fact that they were all left behind in life, essentially, made her feel wrong even being in their presence. After all, she hadn't had to work for a thing in her life. "I'm just visiting, right Natsu? You'll take me back to Central Park later?"

"Sure thing, Luce," Natsu said, smiling widely at her. _One minute he can't even remember my name, the next he's given me the nickname again._ "You're coming again though, right?"

Lucy's face fell. "Uhh," she said, her hands coming up to grip the straps of her backpack tightly. "They probably won't let me out for a while after this. I'll try and sneak out next time I'm in New York, though. I don't know how to get here, though." And boy, did she want to. She'd only been here an hour, and this place was so much livelier than anything that she'd been to in her entire life. The only thing that had it beat was the day she met Natsu, back when she had been only seven. Was it really so long ago? It felt like yesterday, now that she was back here again.

"Then when you come back you can show me your book, right?" Levy broke in, closing her novel and holding it against her chest, leaning forward and looking at Lucy with wide eyes.

"Sure!" Lucy said, a smile breaking out on her face. Another first, for her. The first real smile she'd given to anybody other than Natsu in years. She'd break from that suffocating place one day, but for now, she was just happy to be where she was.

They all talked for a while after that, and Lucy was finally introduced to this Gray character, who had a both embarrassing and curious habit of losing his clothing all over the place. She was introduced to other people as well, such as Levy's 'team' (she wasn't quite sure what was meant by that) and a white haired girl who seemed to really, _really_ hate Erza. Her two siblings were nice, though. The youngest even told her some funny stories about Natsu, and Happy, too. By the time it was getting dark, and she was sure to be in the most trouble she'd been in in years, Lucy had gotten to the point where she never want to leave. She could _breathe_ here. Nobody told her off, or looked at her strange, or gave her some stupidly easy 'schoolwork' to do. It was only smiles, and laughter, and small fights that always ended with Erza winning. It was almost like a real family.

And though she walked complacently with Natsu back to Central Park, then hurried on her own back to the apartment, her heart stayed back at the place she hoped she could belong:

Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **I'm sooo sorry D: I feel like I've been making no actual progress in these chapters, plot wise. I promise that the next chapter things will start picking up! At least the chapters are coming out faster for you guys now ^^**

 **Thanks once again to xXSaryBearXx! The fact that you review every time I post a chapter just makes me more happy than you can even know 3**

 **Also, thanks to SingingAngel327! I've been trying to post chapters more quickly lately. Hopefully you didn't feel like you waited too long on this one XD**


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